Saint Louis Martin's Baptismal Certificate

Record of the baptism of saint louis martin at st. eulalie's church, bordeaux, october 28, 1823

The recovery of the handwritten baptismal record of St. Louis Martin

Although I've seen translations of this record, I've never seen it published before. In earlier years a copy was said to be on display at St. Eulalie Church, where Louis was baptized, but it disappeared some years ago. Baptismal records as old as this one passed into civil custody, and, when someone searched for a copy on behalf of the pastor of St. Eulalie's, he was told it had been lost. But, miraculously, when Yves and Lai Ping Cogoluegnes Kong, who researched this story, requested one, it was found after several months and sent to them. Deo gratias. Our gratitude to the archives of the region of the Gironde.

An English translation of the record of Saint Louis Martin's baptism:

english translation, with notes, of the baptismal record of saint louis martin.

For easier reading, I publish the notes to Louis Martin's baptismal certificate below:

The priest evidently forgot the name “Aloys,” and added in the lower left margin “Louis Joseph Aloys Stanislas Martin.” But note that in the text of the record itself a word has been crossed out after “Stanislas.”

The baptismal register bears a note in the upper left margin, evidently in a later handwriting: “According to the civil registrar of Bordeaux, Louis Martin was born the 22nd, not the 23rd, of August 1823.”

The name of Louis Martin’s father appears on Louis’s birth certificate as “Pierre-François,” which seems the accepted order. The priest could have reversed the order here.

The accepted spelling today is “rue Servandoni.”

“By me, the undersigned priest” has been added at the bottom left margin.

Note that, when the godfather signed below, he wrote “Léonce de Lamothe.

A friend of the family who was present.

This article is part four of a series about St. Louis Martin's birth and baptism in Bordeaux. Read part five, "The statue and reliquary of St. Therese at St. Eulalie's Church in Bordeaux" to find out about the statue of St. Therese installed in the 20th century and about the reliquary of St. Therese and the golden roses sent to the church in 1935 by the surviving sisters of St. Therese.

Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, the Parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

The lives of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux; their spirituality; the life of their family; their beatification in 2008 and canonization in 2015; what we can learn from them today. Articles, homilies, conferences, photo galleries. A unique photo show to celebrate the visit of their relics to Ireland in 2018.